Rockets blow out Warriors to even Western Conference Finals series

HOUSTON — At some point, the Rockets would have to show that the regular season wasn’t just a fluke. After Game 1, the national reaction—or overreaction depending on who you ask—was that Golden State was just too good, Houston was kidding themselves, and that a sweep was definitely on the cards.

To some in the media, this was James attempting to throw his teammates under the bus, or call them out for their performance (or lack thereof) in Game 1. But hearing Harden speak during postgame, it was clear to see that was anything but the case. He’s spent enough time around these guys to know the elite level of play they are capable of, and for some reason wasn’t on display in the first meeting.

“If we come out and be some dogs and do what we did tonight, it doesn’t matter. So it’s not about chess matches or what they’re doing. It’s about us.”

That rough, dog mentality was on display in Game 2. The Rockets tightened up their defensive rotations from tipoff, communicating on every Warriors possession, and made sure shooters didn’t have clean looks. Golden State finished with just 9 makes from deep, and their record when they hit fewer than 10 threes is just 13-14. Klay Thompson, who caught fire in Game 1 and seemed to be wide open on every shot was held to just 8 points tonight on 3-for-11 shooting.

Mike D’Antoni has stressed that a player like Kevin Durant will get his shots and his points wherever and whenever he wants, simply because he’s that great of a player. The key for them is making it difficult for the rest of the team, and that’s what they did. While the rest of the world complained about the ISO-heavy system and lack of rhythm, Houston internally vowed to get back to their defensive roots, what made them a top 10 defense all year.

“I think we just cleaned it up a little bit tonight. I don’t know. But we just did everything a little better this game than we did last game. But it was the same schemes, and we pushed it.”, Chris Paul said of the selflessness on that end of the floor.

Houston got 68 points combined from Trevor Ariza, PJ Tucker, and Eric Gordon. Gordon had recently come under fire for his scoring outputs, and he addressed it during postgame.

Eric Gordon today at the podium:

Reporter: What was different today?Gordon: I was slandered by a fan account that really hasn’t been relevant in 5 years.